Bowl turning adventure (first try)

I have used nearly every function that it could do…except the lathe. I have zero experience with a lathe so I started reading/watching videos about the techniques involved.

I was given a few large awkwardly shaped pieces of black walnut (or so I was told…I am not the best at telling the species, is this black walnut?) and I figured I could make a bowl blank out of them.

As I began to turn the wood I found that the bark actually was pretty thick in places and I discovered quite a few checks/cracks/bug holes.

As I did not have an exact plan of the final shape that I wanted, I just went with it as a few pieces chunked out.In fear of the bowl breaking I did not hollow the whole thing out, instead changed the design from bowl to planter.

I am really happy with how it finished up. I used a salad bowl finish on the outside and a shellac finish inside to help with water protection.

It is far from perfect. There are still small marks from my gouges and sanding but it shows that its my first project on the lathe and will be perfect for my desk at work.

Wow, you took on a real challenge for your first piece and it came out well.If you can take a class (Woodcrafter has them) or get someone experienced to mentor you it will cut your learning curve tremendously.A great turning wood that is easy to get in the Northwest is Big Leaf Maple. It is plentiful and often has some great spaulding patterns. It seem that everyone with a wood pile has some.

Wow, for your first try and “on the fly” you sure brought out a nice shape. It’s so interesting to see how far the raw material comes, from rough to finished. The lathe is a very versatile machine, you might find you use it more than you think. Especially if you can get a 4-jaw chuck for yours…

Cool.you got a real challenge of a piece, looks punky and like parts were chunking off when turning. Got a little undercut lip and a cool shape. Im learning too. As they all say, its addictive. Ive just been pulling pieces off the firewood pile to turn. Just cut it into a slight octagon on the BS, and get a spindle, then go to town. Another easy one is just using some 6/4 stock, cut a square the same size as your lathe swing and make a small platter or round box.

Great job and finish on a real challenge piece of wood. It is very easy to make the inside bigger than the outside on a lump of wood with all those missing and soft (punky) bits.So congratulations on a job well done.

-- Bob, Western Australia, The Sun came up this morning, what a great start to the day. Now it's up to me to make it even better. I've cut this piece of wood 4 times and it's still too damn short.